For many of us, the Ithorian species is one of the most identifiably Star Wars things there is.  For us gentleman of a certain age, that is undoubtably due in part to the vintage Kenner “Hammerhead” figure that helped expand the line beyond the first twelve figures.  It was a very big deal.  That figure was obviously based on the character we now call Momaw Nadon.  Many of the cantina aliens costumes/puppets were “B-movie” quality.  It’s why most of them are blink-and-you-miss-them characters.  If the camera dwelled too long, it would break the fantasy.  For the designs that were a little more complete and camera ready, you get a clearer look.  Momaw Nadon was one such alien that got several well-focused seconds in front of the camera with distinctively alien sounding speech.  His speech sounds a little like a recoding of bubble wrap being popped and then played back at a slower speed.  It’s the exact type of thing that unlocked our imaginations as kids.  All of these factors combine to make the Ithorian species quintessentially Star Wars. Despite this. the movie presence is limited to Momaw Nadon’s brief introductory shot in A New Hope and then a quick reaction after Greedo gets clipped.  While under-represented on the big screen, the animated shows have been filthy with Ithorian characters which demonstrates Momaw Nadon’s resonating impact.

Figures based on Cantina aliens are in a weird place.  Aside from Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba, they are not involved in action sequences.  They are largely little more than set dressing.  Such figures do not demand the “Jedi Level Articulation” (JLA) seen in the modern vintage collection, but they do need something beyond the standard six points of articulation (6POA) seen on this Saga Collection figure.  First and foremost, for the characters seen taking up residence in the seating areas, such as Mr. Nadon here, they need to be able to…wait for it…sit.  This figure cannot sit at all, not even in a stupid straight-legged 5/6POA kind of way.  The plastic skirt completely impedes the rotation of the swivel hips.  In the alcove shots above, I total faked you guys out.  I pulled the top half of the figure off and it’s just resting on the seat.  He’s totally Darth-Mauling it in the booth.  Truth be told, I don’t know if the actual Momaw Nadon in the film was anything more than just an upper torso puppet, as that’s all we see.  I tried to google whether or not Momaw Nadon was a costume or a puppet,  but the answer wasn’t on the first page, so I quit.  Regardless, since Hasbro has to give a full figure, it needs to be able to sit without resorting to action figure bisection.  To ensure that Mr. Nomadscout does not have to check himself into nervous hospital while editing this review, I was able to get the figure reassembled without any permanent damage.  [Editor’s Note:  Checks groin…nervous laughter and sigh of relief ensue.]

Another secondary function that cantina characters need to do is wet their whistle.  Ideally, that would be done courtesy of the requisite arm articulation.  This figure can kind of take a sip of his beverage due to a ninety degree bend sculpted in the left arm.  HOW DARE YOU, HABSRO.  That should be my decision.  Don’t force your posing choices on me!  Perhaps the most important thing cantina figures need to do is look awesome, and I have to admit, this 6POA figure does that.  This figure looks so good that I would argue with anyone who would say this figure needs to be resculpted.  Then I set up full cantina display, and I could no longer overlook its inability to sit.  Truth be told, I wrestled between “rescupt” and “retool” for the Hasbro action.  This head looks so good, I’d love to see Hasbro retain it, but I figured so much else would need to be newly sculpted to accommodate the articulation that Hasbro would just go in the “all new” direction.  The base score for minimally articulated figures is 4.  If this figure came with zero accessories, I would argue that it deserved a 6 score for the aesthetics alone.  But when you add in the fact that it comes with a tube of lipstick little table, a beverage glass, and a staff, I feel like it easily earns that 6 score.